I feel your hopelessness and frustration bc I’m also faced with this struggle to medicate or not. I’m currently in the same exact predicament and have been in one of the lowest depressions bc I just can’t decide or see a better option between medicating or not. They both seem to have disastrous results in my opinion. I’m either very depressed and riddled with anxiety most of the time but in my good times I actually feel alive and feel like my brain is working and feel creative (I’m an artist this is vital!) and passionate OR I’m a complete mindless unfeeling zombie on meds that feels nothing, has zero motivation and no inclination at all for sex or life. How are these the only two possible living options? It’s so frustrating and abhorrent that depression medication has not gotten further but after reading and reading everything I can get my hands on about the pros and cons about antidepressants they scare me to death bc in my own personal opinion (and after trying two:Prozac and Zoloft) they changed me as a person and made me into someone that wasn’t really there. I also realized the hard way how dangerous their withdrawal could be after deciding to quit Zoloft abruptly and it caused one of the most severe relapses I’ve had in my life. My doctor is pleading with me to go back on them (prescribed me Effexor) bc she thinks it’s better to be alive (or half alive in my opinion) than take my own life, so I am here, tortured and indecisive bc I’m tired of being depressed and it is ruining my life in many ways but the alternative was not any better...... I’m only 34 and want to have a life of passion, intelligence, emotions (good and bad)-so I’m aftaid to go back to meds. My doctor keeps telling me that I can just go back off them once I’m better in 6-9 months but I know it’s easuer said than done and I know that these types of meds leave a lasting impression and change in our brains and that’s a thought I just can’t shake. So if I can beat this depression low I’m going to try as hard as I can to eat right, exercise, start yoga and meditation, mindfulness, and just about anything that can help me bc meds just scste the hell out of me. I hope I’m strong enough and I hope you can overcome your struggle and decide. Just wanted to share my story and let you know you’re not alone in feeling this great weight if such a massive decision. Best of luck!!!!!!!!!!

Hi all,
I’m in need of some advice: I really cannot decide what choice to make bc being the choices of bring off ad’s or on are equally as devastating in my opinion and experience so far. I begin taking ad’s last year after finally seeking professional help for my depression and anxiety that I had been suffering from on and off for around 5 years. I first was placed on Prozac then bc of the serious side effects was switched over to Zoloft, and when that was almost just as worse I weaned myself off after 6+months on both and have been going through the worst depression of my life even after stopping meds 4 months ago. With both, I had the unpleasant physical side effects of blurred vision, nausea, loss of apetite and interest in everything in my life in general, sexual dysfunction, constant brain fog and confusion, insomnia, lethargy, zero motivation, and zero inclination for creativity which is a major problem for me as an artist ( i didn’t produce any work the entire time I was on meds). The alternative is to continue being incredibly depressed on and off (which has seemed to be harder and harder to control lately) and just ready to give up on everything a lot of the times. My doctor worries about me and has been trying to get me to try Effexor since it’s not a SSRI but after reading all of the reviews it doesn’t seem like much of an improvement to the others. I just feel like either choice is going to leave me miserable and feeling like I’m missing out on life-please help-any one else go through this difficult decision?? Any advice?? I’m feeling extremely helpless about either choices at the moment :((((((((((